| Having travelled the world and enjoyed banter with the crowds, Whitehouse has decided to call it a day at the age of 46. He took up refereeing when injury cut short a successful playing career with Llanelli and the South Wales Police.
He took charge of nineteen test matches, as well as several more as touch judge or TMO. His last international duty was as the TMO at Twickenham for the England v France game in the 2007 RBS Six Nations.
"We need more referees and I would encourage people to take it up and have as much fun as I have done," said Whitehouse, a Police Inspector in Swansea.
"In particular we need more young referees, people who could make it through to Test match level by the time they are aged 28 or 29. It offers fantastic opportunities and you can even make a full-time career of it these days.
"I went to all sorts of countries, such as Japan, Malaysia, Argentina and New Zealand, that I would not have visited if I had not taken up refereeing.
"Whether it is parents taking charge of the U8 team on a Sunday just to make sure it happens, or someone who wants to go all the way to Test level, I would strongly recommend taking it up."
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